Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-09-02-Speech-1-071"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20020902.7.1-071"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, the 1990s saw an almost universal opening up of world trade, while, worldwide, with the exception of China, the number of people living in absolute poverty increased. The number of countries classed as ‘least developed’ has increased, while the scale of poverty has continued to be huge in a number of countries with a high growth rate. The relationships between trade, development and poverty are complex, then, and we must avoid hasty judgments. My report to the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, which was adopted unanimously, contains proposals on this subject, some of which have been included in the Deva report. I will just focus on two main issues here.
Firstly, aid, particularly technical assistance, is a key issue. There is very little information available on this subject but there appear to be a wealth of horror stories. What is essential is that the countries concerned can define their needs and communicate them to international agencies, setting themselves objectives and pursuing them. That is where our support is needed, and we must ensure that civil society and companies in the field participate as widely as possible. We must break with the practice of setting biased conditions which, in actual fact, serve the interests of the dominant countries. Aid must serve principally to create local diversified supply capacity. Any trade administration must be established at the level of regional common markets.
The report also requires the WTO to negotiate social measures to give vulnerable peoples new prospects in the face of the impact of liberalisation. Moreover, it calls for the issue of migrant workers to be included in the negotiations on services. Lastly, it calls for aid to offset losses from customs receipts in the least-developed countries.
Secondly, the report considers that the place of anti-poverty objectives at the very heart of unilateral trade rules still needs to be defined. I fear that the Commission may be frankly sceptical about Special and Differentiated Treatment. Not so us: we call for it to be redefined.
As regards future negotiations on investment, they may prove to be fruitful, but we would warn that direct investments very seldom reach the poorest countries and, when they do, it is in return for tax favours which harm these countries first of all. Without cooperation between the WTO and the other major bodies, without combating financial fragility, it is unlikely that the negotiations on investment will produce fruitful results for all those who are afflicted by poverty in the world."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples